Hey sis, welcome back. You're tuned in to sis Mind Your Money, the podcast where we talk all things money, wealth, and financial freedom. Without the confusion and without the judgment. I'm your host, Bridgett Dickey, wealth educator and strategist, founder of Dickey Financial Services and Wealth Management firm, and the creator of Girl Mind Your Money Movement. My mission is simple. To educate, empower, and equip women like you to take control of your finances and build real lasting wealth. So grab your favorite drink, get comfortable, and let's get into it. At some point in time in your life, one of these four things will happen to you or someone you love, and when it does, are your finances ready? Today we're starting a four part series on the four biggest destroyers of financial stability, drugs, disease, death, and divorce. I am not going to sugarcoat this. This series is personal, and I believe it could be the most important financial conversation you ever have. So sis, pull up a seat and let's talk. Now. Definitely in our culture, no one really talks about drugs, prescription, recreation you don't talk about this. These are things that are not talked about. We live our lives, we take care of our families, but secretly we know that people in our family, immediate family, close family friends, people around you, they may be doing drugs, but that's just something you don't want to talk about, right? That's just not that conversation you want to have. Now, this is not about judgment. This is not about the choices that this person has made or even you may be making. This is about what happens when this D show up in your life, and as drugs, I've seen this destroy families because sometimes it's a secret. It's things that are just not talked about. It may be you. It may be your child, it may be your spouse, it may be your parent, your sibling. It hits hard and this is going to be a sensitive subject, but this here, you feel this one immediately. When that addiction is so much greater and more than the family and it really is, it is more than the family from what I've been told, is you're trying to chase that high. That's what you're chasing, right? When that addiction steps in the legal costs, the DWIs, the possession charges, the court fees to get an attorney to make bail. So much more comes out of it. Let's not talk about the hidden costs, the paying bills, covering debts, borrowing money, knowing that that money is never gonna come back. So a lot of times back then, if you grew up in the eighties, nineties, we we thinking sometimes we think the horrific drugs, cocaine, crack, heroin, those happen. But what's most common today is prescription drugs. It is draining the savings in retirement because of the prescription drugs to a point where insurance won't cover it anymore, can't go to the doctor to get it, because now they've seen the abuse. So now that person is finding all levels of means of trying to get that fit. To get the drug that they want. This affects your financial life, the emotional tax, you not able to focus, not have the ability to earn. So if you don't have the ability to earn in what that leads to. Homelessness, loss of physical things. But this is one conversation that is not had. Is this something that if you know ahead of time, can you prepare for 'cause it's something that you just really can never prepare for. Like you just never know when yourself. Family member, someone close to you, your spouse, your parent, your sibling. Like you don't know that these people are one day gonna get on drugs, like life happens and things happen. So you don't know this. So how can you prepare for this though, if you don't have a plan period for your money? One of these four Ds will affect it, right? And drugs will. Have that hard conversation before a crisis hits. It could be someone got sick, hurt, injured, someone passed away. What is that hard conversation that you need to have? How is your finances? 'cause often what happens is when people go through major life changing events, a death of a loved one, family member, whomever, a child, you be amazed how it shows up. It can show up in different levels of addiction, drugs, food, alcohol. Shopping. It shows up in so many different ways, but having that hard conversation right on how that looks, setting financial boundaries, what you will cover and what you will not cover. So now you say it. If it is you, it's hard to have this conversation because you don't believe that it's you, that this is happening to, you have everything under control. But what if it's your spouse? What if it's your child? What if it's your parent setting the boundaries of what you will cover and what you won't cover? Stick to it. Don't do not waiver from this. Make sure that you are setting things up properly, right? Make sure you are funding your emergency fund account. That's your number three account. Make sure it's funded exactly what it's for. Emergencies, life will happen. Make sure you have that emergency account Review health insurance, this is so key. Review your health insurance coverage for mental and substance abuse treatment. Some health insurance coverages. Or even when you are out there researching and looking, it's almost can you be preventative with this? You could. So oftentimes we trying to save money, oh, I don't want to have this feature on this, but you just never know where if you could have some level of mental health treatment or substance abuse, is that offered? Get it? Cause you just never know what could happen in life? This is another key area as well. Consider having financial power of attorney. I'm gonna say this to you. I don't care if you healthy, strong, sick, not whatever. Everyone needs a financial power of attorney. So this is preventative things everyone. Financial power of attorney is not when you are on your death bed or about to die or having ma you need, this is just a part of the process. I did a financial power of attorney or helped, and one of my clients, she's 25 years old and we have all of her stuff set up. She's healthy. Nothing is wrong with her, but we got all her stuff set up. Medical, financial power of attorney, will, trust, everything. Everything is set up. You need it. So some of these things are preventative, things that you should already have in place, so you're not getting ready, you are already ready. Know the difference between helping and enabling, financially and emotionally giving money, is that really helping you know that what they're gonna do with the money. So is it wise to give them that money? So this is a time where get the support and help you need, reach out to your village. Reach out to the ones who you know you can talk to to get that support. I know this is something that we don't want no one to know. It's such an embarrassing time. You feel shame, especially if you're the parent. And you're sitting in shame and guilt like, what did I do? Where did I miss the mark? How did my child get here? Well, what if you're the child and it's the parent? Now you are taking on the role of being the parent where you should be the child. What if it's your spouse, the person that you vowed to love, to honor, to cherish for sickness and health? How do you handle this when your spouse, your loved one, now is suffering, and has an addiction? How do you handle that? So this is a time where knowing the difference where you're helping or you enabling, this is time where you need support yourself. I've worked with all walks of life over the years. I have encountered abuse in relationships with my clients. I've encountered drugs. I where one spouse. has a drug addiction, alcohol addiction that is drugs. It's just in a form. It's just liquid. I've seen it, I've seen the financial toll that it has on the marriage, on the people in the marriage. I've seen how the spouse, one spouse, is trying to get things together financially, but they know the other spouse, of course, is suffering. And it's hard because me trying to work, I'm only working with one spouse because secretly, you know when you talk to me, it's like you hire me even though you're married. I'm still keeping what you're telling me private. Even though you're married, I'm not sharing. And so it's hard to support and I had to figure out ways to support the spouse that's going through it, and not the other spouse that's on drugs, right? Not to call issues and problems in the home. This is not time to feel shame. This is time to get preparation, get things in place to have the protection you need. But this is one area where I've seen families go into their 4 0 1 Ks, take everything they have owned. To try to help and take care, and this is devastating. So once again, I said, this is not time to feel shame, point the finger. This is time, this is about preparation and protection. This is where you want to sit. This is where you need the help and support is to get to this point so you can have that plan. It's hard to see someone suffer and go through what they're going through, and you wanna be there to help but not enable, but your finances I've seen in certain, and when certain clients come to me where this has wiped them out or they had to divorce, leave the marriage. Because now financially they couldn't do it anymore. The family suffered. The kids suffered. So this is a time where to get that support and help anytime there's some level of major life changing situation, you just never know how one would handle it. But if you have things in preparation, that's why I always talk about having a financial plan, having your financial life together. 'cause you just never know when life will hit. So regardless of what it is, I have a financial plan, but drugs is one of those we don't wanna talk about it. That's what a shame and guilt, anxiety, depression. It sits, it lays It is all consuming. And so this is just to, give you a baseline of having things together. So remember some of the things that I said, right? The cost of what? To get someone into rehabilitation. The cost for therapy, medication, repeat visits. Maybe they tried it once and it didn't work, then we try it again. And can you keep doing that? Because then this affects your life financially. So if it's things that we can put in place that are preventative, let's do that. So look, like I said, this is part one of a four part series, so this is part one of what I talked about, drugs, the d nobody wants to talk about. This is one area I know a lot of people don't want to talk about. It's the shame if someone passes away due to drugs. It's just one thing. We don't want to say we, we feel such shame and guilt and we don't want anyone to know that, right? So look. This is your time. I'm giving you some support and help you need, so you can book a 30 minute clarity call with me. Let's talk about your financial future. Let's make sure we have that preventative plan that you are in preparation, you are in prevention mode, so you can always click the link in the description and make sure you book your 30 minute clarity call. If you feel like you need more deeper conversations. You need more of a financial. Look at your full picture of where you are. You can book a one hour consultation with me. and that's a great time to get that deep dive into your financial life and giving you the recommendations and the guidance that you need for that. Or look, you ready to move in and I need to get this full financial plan right. That's what you need. So go to dickey financial firm.com and you can schedule that time so you can get your full plan. So this is what I want you to do. Make sure you join me each and every Friday for our Girl Mind, your Money Lunch webinars. It is a great time to learn to grow. This is a time for you to get the information you need. This is a great lunch break on Fridays where you can get, physically eat your food, but also get financially fed and, feed your soul. Now, if this episode has helped you today, I want you to make sure you rate it. Make sure you share this with someone. Go to Apple Podcast. Go to Spotify right now. Search. Sis mind your money and leave me a five star rating. It takes 10 seconds. I want you to get this done. This helps others, women, men, find more content that comes from me. And make sure you write that review now. Every Friday, a new podcast episode drops. So I want to see you or make sure you're listening for next week. Part two is coming of the four Ds that no one wants to talk about. So I look forward to seeing you next week. Rest, take care of yourself. Know that you are a financial warrior. Know that you are not your financial mistake. And that's the wrap sis. Thanks for tuning in to sis Mind Your Money. I pray today's episode gave you something real to work with. I'm Bridget Dickey, your wealth educator and strategist, and I'll catch you in the next episode. Until then, go mind your money, sis. If you have not already, hit subscribe so you will never miss a new episode. New episodes drop every Friday and trust me, you don't want to miss what's coming up next.